Small Business Marketing: Free Tools, Tips & Tactics
If you're new here, you'll want to be sure to get your free report and subscribe to the monthly e-zine and, perhaps, subscribe to the RSS feed, as well. Thanks for visiting!
Small Business Marketing Tools
For any small business, marketing is the key to your company’s survival. But if you’re on a tight budget, how can you attract more customers without bankrupting your business in the process? Don’t worry, it’s an obstacle that many small business owners face, but it can be overcome. You just need to get creative with your small business marketing strategies.
In addition to the techniques outlined in our smART Marketing and Online Marketing pages, you can use also use the following resources, which are either free or ridiculously low-priced, to help boost your business without breaking the bank. Since I’ve used most of these myself or had colleagues recommend them to me, I’m confident you’ll find them just as valuable:
MyOwnBusiness.org: Free entrepreneurial training
PRWeb.com and PRFree.com: Free press release distribution
PDF995.com: Create PDFs for free
VistaPrint.com: Free business cards and low-cost stationery
Each of the above resources provides a valuable product or service, which other companies charge for — sometimes a LOT more, and in most cases, the resources are absolutely free! Of course, each company does offer some form of upgrade but the upgrades are optional. By utilizing these free resources, you can test which small business marketing strategy works best for your company, and then decide where your marketing dollars will be best spent.
Tips & Tactics for Using Small Business Marketing Tools
This website, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides free online entrepreneurial training to anyone starting a business. Because the program is Web-based, you can work at your own pace, either from start to finish, or you can choose what specific aspect of business you need to learn about and access only that section. It is an interactive site with Sound Bytes, quizzes, feedback and tools to help you write a business plan plus lots more. With sections on Business Organization, Insurance, Taxes, Franchising, Marketing, and International Trade to name just a few, this is the most comprehensive resource of its kind anywhere on the Internet from what I can tell. And best of all, it’s FREE! Of course they do have a graded and certificated course, which comes complete with textbook and exclusive access to other valuable products and services, but the cost is still only $85! Considering that many companies charge from $450 and up for a 13-week entrepreneurial training course, this course, which is endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, has got to be the best deal on the Internet.
PRWeb.com and PRFree.com
Using a press release to get free publicity for your company is a brilliant small business marketing strategy, but it’s probably the most underutilized tool there is. I think most small business owners don’t even consider using press releases because
1) it’s costly to have a public relations company or advertising agency create and distribute one;
2) many people don’t know how to write one themselves; and
3) entrepreneurs often can’t think of a news angle for maximizing the opportunities a press release presents.
If you haven’t yet discovered the power of the press release, now is the time to learn. Check out our Press Releases page for information on how to write a press release, then for FREE distribution, check out the PRWeb.com and PRFree.com websites. Both provide a free distribution service, as well as upgraded services that will get your press release into the hands of targeted media outlets (including Google News, Yahoo News, API, UPI, Reuters, and others). Think of the possibilities that having a story written about your business either locally or internationally (or both!) can do for your bottom line. Isn’t it time you grabbed some free publicity for your business?
You know how you can download eBooks and template forms and open many documents online using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader? Ever wonder how you could create your own PDF documents or eBooks that you could sell or use in a small business marketing campaign yourself? Well, you can, and it doesn’t have to cost you anything either! The Adobe Acrobat program used to create PDFs is a fantastic piece of software, but it isn’t cheap, and many small business owners simply can’t afford it. Fortunately, there’s an alternative, and it’s FREE!
Check out the PDF995.com website and download their three free PDF products. Anyone can use these to create their own documents at absolutely no charge. The free versions do display a sponsor page anytime you run the software, but that just means you have to see their advertising when you create the documents — the ads don’t show up when people download or open them, so no one will be the wiser when they buy your eProducts! There are no hidden fees or limited operationality or registration limitations for the free version, just the sponsor page. Personally, I can live with that! You can also spend either $9.95 to purchase a key for each product that won’t launch the sponsor page, or pay $19.95 for all three products to get the key that prevents the sponsor page from coming up, but that’s up to you.
If you haven’t heard about them yet, you’ll definitely want to check out the VistaPrint.com website. They offer free business cards (you do have to pay shipping and handling though), as well as some of the best printing deals you’ll find anywhere. I know people who have used them for postcards and direct mail pieces and they absolutely rave about the quality and service that VistaPrint offers. Before you go out and spend a ton of money on your next business card order or stationery needs, check out the VistaPrint website. Oh, and they have free e-cards too — a great way to keep in touch with your best customers–another small business marketing strategy that lets your customers know you appreciate them AND keeps you on their radar screen!
